XRP reversed sharply after briefly celebrating its first golden cross of 2026, and the latest move has shifted attention to a bearish chart signal. Over the past 48 hours, the token has come under pressure, with a death cross now visible on the technical chart. Recent data shows XRP down 3.95% in the last 24 hours, sliding from $2.06 to $1.97. That move pushed the asset back below the $2 mark and changed the tone of trading quickly.
XRP trades in a narrow band as upside stalls at $2.06
A death cross happens when a short-term moving average drops below a longer-term moving average, a setup many traders read as a sign of weakening momentum. For XRP, the pattern has left price action stuck between $1.97 and $2.06. The token is still holding above the lower edge of that range, but a move back through $2.06 remains uncertain without a fresh bullish trigger. The range is tight. The pressure is not.
At the same time, market activity has accelerated instead of fading. CoinMarketCap data shows XRP trading volume surged 167.34% to $3.68 billion. That jump points to heavy participation, yet stronger turnover has not been enough to offset the bearish signal created by the death cross. High volume, in this case, has reflected active positioning rather than a clean recovery.
Liquidation imbalance near $2 hits long traders hard
Trading conditions around the $2 level have been disrupted by a severe liquidity imbalance. In the last 24 hours, XRP recorded an 8,700% liquidation imbalance, and long-position traders lost nearly $2 billion after price fell below $2. Short traders were not fully insulated either, showing that the market has remained unstable even as the broader direction turned lower.
The sell-off also erased the earlier rise in derivatives interest. XRP had posted a 12% increase in open interest over the weekend, but that gain has now been wiped out as losses spread across leveraged positions. Optimism seen only days ago has weakened, while concerns tied to regulatory clarity and institutional adoption continue to weigh on sentiment.
XRP is still trading inside a narrow range, with volume expanding and price staying under pressure at the same time. That combination has made the latest decline more intense and kept short-term direction highly sensitive around the current levels.